Sarunas Jasikevicius signs with Pacers

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2115697


Sarunas Jasikevicius, widely considered the top point guard in Europe,
signed a three-year, 12 million deal with the Pacers, his agent Doug
Neustadt told ESPN.com.

Jasikevicius also had offers from the Jazz and Cavs, but decided to take
less money and fewer minutes to have a shot at an NBA title.

"It really came down to who he could win a championship with next year,"
Neustadt told ESPN.com. "He saw a chance to contribute and win and couldn't
pass it up."

The point guard, who played collegiately at Maryland from 1994-'98, most
recently played for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2003-2005 and F.C. Barcelona from
2000-2003.

Jasikevicius led Maccabi to a second straight Euroleague title in May, and
in the process, won the MVP of the Final Four. He scored 22 points on
7-for-12 shooting, shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and had six rebounds
and five assists. However, the stats aren't what makes him appealing.

Jasikevicius is a warrior with a great jumper, good size for the position
and excellent court vision. Jasikevicius thrives in pressure situations and
demands and shoots the ball late in games.

In last summer's Olympics he dropped 28 points on Team USA in a Lithuania
victory and 17 points in a loss.

He's lapped the competition in Europe. Now we'll see if he can continue his
winning streak in the NBA.

"I was finding it tough to practice this year for the first time,"
Jasikevicius told ESPN.com in May. "I had trouble motivating myself. I love
the competition and it really took the Final Four to begin to bring it out
in me again."

NBA teams have flirted with bringing him over in free agency for the past
two summers. His asking price last year, $1.6 million, wasn't too high. But
general managers, as they are wont to do, always focused on what he couldn't
do.

He's too slow. He's not a great athlete. He doesn't play defense. His
passion can make him out of control. How will NBA players respond when he
chews them out on the court after they make dumb plays?

But after his third straight title, teams began looking at him differently.
However, no one pursued him harder than the Pacers. Team president Larry
Bird watched Jasikevicius play numerous times over the course of the season
and became convinced that Jasikevicius had the character to overcome his
physical limitations.

If anyone should be able to spot that, it should be Larry.

Jasikevicius joins a Pacers team primed to make a title run. With Ron Artest
returning from a year long suspension, Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Tinsley and
Jonathan Bender finally getting healthy and first-round pick Danny Granger
added to the mix the Pacers suddenly look like the toughest, deepest and
most motivated team in the league.

With their starting five already in place, look for Jasikevicius to be an
important sixth man coming off the bench.

The loss of Reggie Miller obviously strikes a blow to the heart of the team.
But the Pacers are taking a $12 million gamble that Jasikevicius can bring
some of that same swagger to Indiana next season. It's a risky move, but it
could be the gamble that puts the Pacers over the top.